We all know the ad industry is broken. That’s why you and I use ad blockers – to stop the worst advertising excesses cluttering our computers and mobiles.

Unfortunately, installing an ad blocker doesn’t magically solve everything. We, as consumers, are so used to getting everything on the internet for free that we refuse to entertain the idea of paying for stuff. Ads are traditionally the only way that most websites can make even a little money to keep their content free. By blocking ads, we take away the power of a creator or publisher to make money. Blocking ads can also lead to more websites locking out users – which is no good for the website and no good for you.

Acceptable Ads

That’s why at eyeo we use Acceptable Ads on our products. The Acceptable Ads standards (defined by an independent committee) are a middle ground between you, the internet user, and the publishers that need to make money to survive. They are relevant, nonintrusive ads that were designed with internet users to not be annoying or destroy your experience on a website.

Acceptable Ads have been a sustainable option for a few years now, with both publishers and internet users being happy with the middle ground they provide. However, many publishers and advertisers complain that their ad sources are unwilling to give compliant ads. Thus, we listened and found a way to help publishers overcome this need.

The next step

The goal of AAX is to make it easier for publishers and advertisers to access Acceptable Ads, so they are more likely to use them. This hopefully means that, as more people follow the Acceptable Ads standard, we will see more user-friendly websites – ones that don’t overload you with ads, use aggressive paywalls, ask you to turn off your ad blocker or worse, that they “circumvent” your choice by reinjecting ads anyway.

Currently the ad industry is divided into two camps. Those that want to cling to an outdated model and continue to disrespect your choice to block ads and those that wish to make money in a sustainable, user-friendly way. AAX is designed to make it easier for any company to do the latter, making your web experience better.

Now, on a day-to-day level, you won’t see any difference in how your ad blocker works. You can still block all ads, disable Acceptable Ads and experience the web any way you like. Publishers are still free to not choose Acceptable Ads, or not use AAX if they find Acceptable Ads in other places. AAX is simply a tool for publishers and advertisers – a way to improve the advertising ecosystem for the better. If everyone works together, we can make a better internet for everyone.